Cool, clear and very much unlike most muggy August nights in New York City, this past Saturday proved to be the perfect evening for a rooftop cocktail party and preview screening. Our wonderful friends at Engendered hosted a small get together to celebrate their upcoming I View Film Festival (running September 18-26 in New York City). The evening began with a boisterous welcome from WVN’s Engendered contact Debanuj, someone whom I had yet to meet and who provided the warmest of welcomes. Debanuj promptly directed me and my guest to the delicious rum cocktails provided by El Dorado Rum and an appetizing spread of South Asian cuisine. After some time for socializing, we gathered on the main part of the deck for introductions to the Engendered staff and, the part that I had been most anticipating, a preview screening of their films. As each and every snippet in the I View trailer projected on the wall, I was left wanting more and more, and I couldn’t be more excited about the short film screening that followed: “Women and Islam,” a chapter of Vandana Sood’s film project “The Taxi Takes on Terror.” Sood’s project documents Mumbai taxi cab conversations on the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and other related topics. Her chapter on Women and Islam was an absolutely intriguing and well rounded conversation about the burka, including views of men and women, Muslims and non-Muslims, and most fascinating, a Muslim female taxi driver who dons the burka only when she is not working. By the end of the film I was practically flying out of my seat to invite Sood to submit her film to the WVN Festival.

After a brief Q&A with Sood, we were treated to a short Pakistani film about a lower caste young boy and his desire for new shoes. Of course, a film from Pakistan cannot be shown without a reminder of the current devastation caused by the flooding in Pakistan. Another dear friend of WVN’s, Amina Ahmed, and her colleagues invited us all to Remembering the Indus - Water and Life, a fundraising event the following night at the Gershwin Hotel. As we all sat on a Manhattan rooftop, we learned that just one $30 donation would feed a family of 6 for a whole month in Pakistan. To make a donation, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). All proceeds go to The Citizens Foundation.

Although the cool air on the rooftop of that August evening seemed out of place, the company wasn’t. If there were ever a city that could change the world, it is New York, and sharing that evening with philanthropists and activists from all backgrounds couldn’t have been a more inspiring moment. I wish everyone at Engendered the best for this year’s I View Film Festival and I look forward to seeing more of their films.

For more information about Engendered and the I View Film Festival, visit http://www.engendered.org/iviewfilm.html

For more information about Remembering the Indus, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Cassandra Schaffa
Director of Festival Operations
Women’s Voices Now